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+ servings
a bowl of kerala beef curry
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Kerala Beef Curry

Easy Kerala Beef Curry made in the slow cooker or pressure cooker with meltingly tender pull apart beef. Its light, fresh with simple ingredients.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 546kcal
Author Kim

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 kg 2 pounds Beef, chopped into 1 inch pieces (chuck steak, skirt steak, shin, brisket)
  • 2 medium Red Onions sliced finely
  • 1 can 400 g Diced Tomatoes (or 2 very ripe fresh chopped tomatoes)
  • 3 Long Green chillies, chopped
  • 2 sprigs Curry leaves
  • 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon Sea salt
  • 1 cup water

Spice Mix Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons Grated Ginger
  • 2 tablespoons Crushed Garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Coriander Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder

To Serve

  • 2 cups Cooked Jasmine Rice
  • 4 springs Curry Leaves (lightly fried)

Instructions

Slow Cooker Instructions

  • Prepare: Heat a pan on medium high heat. Add oil and once hot, add the onions. Cook until they just start to become soft. Next, add the tomatoes and stir through, cooking for 1 minute. Finally add the spice mix ingredients and green chilies, stirring through, cooking for another minute.
  • Cook: Transfer mixture to slow cooker, along with beef, curry leaves (still on stem) and water. Cook on LOW in Slow Cooker for 8 hours. Once finished cooking, remove curry leaves from pot.
  • Serve: Divide curry and rice equally among 4 bowls, sprinkle the curry leaves on top.

Pressure Cooker Instructions

  • Prepare: Set the Pressure Cooker to “Sear on High” and set timer for 10 minutes. Add oil to inner pot of pressure cooker. Once hot, add the onions and cook until they just become soft. Add the canned tomatoes and stir through. Then add the spice mix ingredients, stirring through for a minute, or until fragrant.
  • Cook: Add the beef, curry leaves and ¾ cup water to the pressure cooker. Select the menu by pressing the PRESSURE COOK button. Select the “MEAT/POULRTY” setting and adjust the cooking time to 40 minutes. Press start to commence the cooking process. (make sure pressure valve is set to “Seal”). Once timer has gone off, release pressure valve so steam can escape. Remove the lid, being careful of any steam.
  • Serve: Divide curry and rice equally among 4 bowls, sprinkle the curry leaves on top.

Optional

  • For thicker Curry Sauce: Make a cornflour slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of tap water mixed together in a small dish. Pour into the curry whilst its still in the slow cooker and hot, stir through to thicken
  • Curry Leaves: Heat a small pan on high heat with ½ tablespoon of oil (any will do). Remove curry leaves from the stems and add to pan once heated. Stir them around in the pan – they will sizzle and crackle a bit and will only take a minute or two to cook. Once they’ve become crisp and turned a darker shade of green, remove from pan.

Notes

  1. Meat: I used Beef Shin for this recipe.  I bought Steaks and chopped it into 1 inch pieces.  Stew meat is best for slow cooking and   chuck steak, beef roast, skirt steak, shin, brisket could also be used.  Just be sure to trim off excess fat from the meat . 
  2. Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes work great in this recipe, however you could also use two large ripe tomatoes finely chopped. 
  3. Curry Leaves: Curry leaves are aromatic leaves commonly used in South Asian cuisine, adding a unique flavor and fragrance to dishes.  You can find them in the fresh produce section or the aisle dedicated to spices and herbs. If fresh curry leaves are not accessible, some stores also carry dried curry leaves, which can be a reasonable substitute, though the flavor may differ slightly. 
  4. Green Chilies: Make sure to buy the long green chilies as they are not overly hot.  The smaller green chilles are VERY hot and not suitable for this curry.
  5. Spices: All the spices in this recipe are from your local supermarket.
  6. Spice Level: This is a medium curry, so it has a bit of heat in it.  To make it less spicy, remove the seeds from the green chilies, and halve the amount of black pepper and chili powder
  7. Storage: This curry freezes well.  Portion out into serving sized containers with a lid, label and date the containers and they’ll keep in the freezer for 3 months.
  8. Defrosting: Defrost in microwave on defrost setting, or alternatively, put container in fridge overnight to thaw, then reheat on stove/microwave.
  9. Cornflour Note: If using cornflour and refrigerating leftovers, when you reheat, the curry may appear a bit gelatinous, but once its heated that will disappear and you’ll be left with delicious thick rich curry.
  10. Nutritional information includes the curry + half a cup of rice for 4 people.

Nutrition

Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g